Global Footsteps is the educational programme affiliated to The Rendezvous Society a non-profit British charity organisation (UK Registered Charity 293357), based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.[1]
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Global Footsteps organises educational programmes around the world. These include study tours, youth conferences and youth exchanges among Gloucestershire and its linked communities around the world. It aims to promote inter-cultural linking and environmental education. In 2009, Global Footsteps launched a new project called Global Ventures in which young individuals embark on personal life-changing and enriching ventures.
The conferences organised by Global Footsteps are aimed at youth aged 18 to 25 from any of Gloucestershire's linked communities around the world.
Past conferences include:
Recent positive action arising from Global Footsteps conferences include:
In July 2007, Global Footsteps organised its latest International Youth Conference Footstep 11: Shaping & Sharing The Future at Moneague College in Saint Ann, Jamaica. The principal theme of the event was Consumerism and its impact on the natural environment.
Youth participants aged between 18 and 25 represented linked communities in countries as diverse as Jamaica, Kenya, Poland, USA, Russia, the United Kingdom, Turkey and newcomer Brazil. The youth took part in active workshops, field trips and activities with the aim of educating the youth, so that they could then share their knowledge with their local community and achieve sustainable development in a spirit of global citizenship.
The last International Youth Conference Footstep 12 took place in Cadca, Slovakia in August 2010.
Global Footsteps has organised educational study tours to many of the linked communities. In recent years, these have been concentrating on Sochi (Cheltenham's Russian twin town) and Toruń in Poland. These study tours are aimed at educating people about cultural understanding on a local level.
Between 1985 and 2000, Global Footsteps ran a successful youth exchange programme between Gloucestershire, England and Kisumu, Kenya. Youth from both countries took part in productive environmental and educational activities. They also gained a vast knowledge of different cultures, mainly helped by staying with local families.